


Sealed With a Kiss

by f0rcryin0utl0ud



Category: The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Fluff, Humor, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Romance, slight angst
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-23
Updated: 2019-05-25
Packaged: 2020-03-10 01:48:51
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 5,960
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18928843
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/f0rcryin0utl0ud/pseuds/f0rcryin0utl0ud
Summary: “I'm going to kill them,” he mumbled, forcing his eyes away. The alert was from SHIELD, calling all the Avengers back to base and Steve scrunched his eyes closed. All he'd asked for wasoneweekend off.





	1. One

**Author's Note:**

> This is a sequel to [Touch of Love](https://archiveofourown.org/works/675990)
> 
> I found this in my fanfic folder and realized I had never posted it, so decided to edit it and post it. Sadly, the muses are still nowhere to be found, so I am not actually writing anything :( but at least this is SOMETHING new.

Steve's phone alert went off and he groaned, reaching out blindly for it, even as he felt a warm arm pulling him closer. “Sorry,” he mumbled, curling his fingers around the phone on the dresser.

“Can they not survive one weekend without you?” Loki muttered, curling more snugly around Steve's body, letting his fingers trail down Steve's chest to dip under the blankets.

Steve bit his lip, letting his eyes flutter closed, his hips shifting into Loki's touch before the alert sounded again and he swore, swiping the screen in frustration as Loki chuckled beside him, stretching languidly. Steve's eyes strayed from his phone, watching Loki's hand disappearing under the blanket once more only he wasn't touching Steve this time.

“I'm going to kill them,” he mumbled, forcing his eyes away. The alert was from SHIELD, calling all the Avengers back to base and Steve scrunched his eyes closed. All he'd asked for was _one_ weekend off.

Loki sighed beside him. “I know that look,” he said, unable to hide his disappointment.

Steve rolled to his side and threw his arm over Loki, pulling him close, wrapping a leg around Loki's thighs. “I don't want to go,” he grumbled and Loki chuckled again, petting his hair.

“But you are going to,” he murmured.

Steve pressed closer for a moment before sighing. He propped himself on his elbow and looked down at Loki. “I don't suppose you'd consider staying here till I got back?”

Loki raised an eyebrow. It had taken Steve months to convince him to spend the weekend with him, rather than the sex and run they'd been doing since they'd started whatever this was between them. Steve had reached a point where he wanted to stop thinking of it as _whatever this was between them_ and had hoped this weekend they could have figured out exactly what it was, together.

He leaned down and brushed his lips against Loki's, once, twice, before Loki sank his fingers into Steve's hair and deepened the kiss, pulling a groan from Steve that he was pretty sure came from his toes. 

“You're not making this any easier,” Steve growled, nipping at Loki's bottom lip.

Loki grinned. “That was my intention,” he purred, shifting under Steve to elicit _just_ enough pressure against Steve's aching cock to make him consider ignoring the alert from SHIELD all together.

When the alert that he had a message sounded for the third time though, Steve sagged in defeat. “I have to go,” he groaned, capturing Loki in a fast and messy kiss before rolling out of bed and heading for a quick shower.

He thought that when he came back out that Loki would be gone, had prepared himself for that, but when he pulled the towel from his hair, Loki was still in the bed, one arm propped behind his head, eyes half-closed. He looked warm and sleepy and Steve wished he could pull off the clothes he'd just put on and crawl back under the covers with him. 

He crossed the room and sank onto the edge of the bed, tossing his towel toward the hamper in the corner. “Hey,” he murmured, sliding his hand along Loki's ribs with an affectionate grin. “You're still here.”

Loki sat up and leaned closer to Steve, his green eyes dark with want and Steve swallowed hard, reminding himself he needed to go, even as he let his hand slip along Loki's ribs and down his back. 

“We have unfinished business,” Loki answered teasingly, trailing a hand up Steve's inner thigh.

Steve nodded, his gaze on Loki's mouth. He needed to go before SHIELD sent agents looking for him – or worse, his teammates. He leaned closer, his mouth a breath from Loki's. The last thing he needed was for SHIELD or his team to find Loki naked in his bed – at least, not before Steve had figured out if this was going somewhere. Loki grinned and closed the distance between them, and Steve let himself get lost in the kiss for a minute or two, before reluctantly pulling back.

“I'll be back as quickly as I can, I promise.”

~*~*~

After brushing aside the teasing questions from his teammates about why he was late, Steve and the others set off to deal with yet another threat. 

SHIELD had been called in to deal with some creature that had somehow ended up on Earth, and once it had been clear that SHIELD wasn't able to deal with it, Fury had called in the Avengers. 

If Steve hadn't known where Loki was the past thirty-six hours he'd almost suspect the god of mischief was behind it, but Loki's attacks lately were less and less serious. Tony had called them an annoyance, and Thor had mentioned Loki looking for attention. Steve suspected it was because Loki liked watching Steve in action.

He coughed in embarrassment at the thought, and ignored the curious look Bruce threw him. 

“So do we know what this thing is?” he asked instead.

“Were you asleep in the briefing, Cap?” Stark's voice sounded in his ear. “Someone keep you up past your bedtime?”

Steve scowled but didn't answer, just turned to the others in the quinjet. Bruce took pity on him and handed over a tablet. “The agents on the ground managed to send that before they...” He didn't need to say it, Steve remembered Fury's tone as he told them about the agents that didn't make it.

Looking down at the image frozen on the screen, Steve whistled softly to himself. Despite what the others might think, he _had_ been paying attention in the briefing. It was his job to keep his team safe and no matter that his weekend with Loki had been interrupted, he was still Captain America. He'd already seen the image, of course, but looking at it again he was struck by how much it looked like something that belonged in a museum. “It looks like a dinosaur,” he muttered.

“And a pissed off one at that,” Clint added from the pilot seat.

Steve had a sinking suspicion this was going to take a lot longer than he thought. He just hoped Loki would still be waiting for him when they were done.

~*~*~

Steve threw himself to the ground and rolled to his feet all in one move, catching his shield as he did so. Clint had been right about the dinosaur being pissed off, and the Avengers – even with all their combined strength – were just barely managing to contain the beast. Tony's repulsor blasts just seemed to make it angrier, and even Thor's hammer was only stunning it for a few seconds before it was charging at them again.

He wasn't sure what the creature's scales were made of but it might as well have been vibranium, as nothing was getting past them. It swiped a building with it's spiked tail and Steve ducked under his shield, avoiding the debris raining down on him.

Thor let out a bark of laughter, baring his teeth as he charged the creature once more. Steve was a little worried by just how much the Asgardian seemed to be enjoying himself. He jumped onto the roof of a car and flung his shield at the creature's head, right between its eyes where seconds later Thor hit it with Mjolnir. It shook its head like it was shaking off a fly and turned, heading for a more populated area of the city.

“Shit,” Steve muttered.

“It's doing a runner,” Tony said, and Steve saw Iron Man flying in, shooting pulse after pulse at the beast in an attempt to annoy it enough to turn around.

Steve ran toward it, hearing the others shouting their positions. The Hulk roared down a side street and barrelled into the side of the creature, rocking it almost off it's feet but it gained its footing in time to fling Hulk through the side of a building.

“I hate to say this, but I don't think we're going to stop this thing.”

Steve grit his teeth as Tony's voice filled his ear again. He wasn't ready to give up, not yet. “Hey,” Steve shouted, and flung his shield again. “Over here!”

The creature turned and Steve swallowed as he felt its eyes zero in on him. It threw its head back and charged and Steve took a deep breath as he braced himself. He could see the others still attacking, even though they were having no effect. The ground trembled under the weight of it as it barrelled toward him like an angry bull.

Steve ran forward, leaping onto the hood of a car and then the roof. He jumped, propelling himself through the air and over the creature's head. But just before he managed to land, the creature reared up and caught Steve in the side, its horn piercing through Steve's skin like tissue paper. It flung its head to the side and Steve was sent flying into a building, the impact a paper cut compared to the screaming pain coming from his side.

Steve hit the floor and gave a wet gasp of pain, the coppery taste of blood filling his mouth.

“STEVE!” He could hear his team screaming his name, even as they kept fighting the beast but he didn't have the breath to answer them. 

His last thought before the darkness took him was _Loki_.


	2. Two

Loki appeared in the middle of chaos, destruction all around and the Avengers fending off a creature not of this realm. His eyes scanned the destroyed city street from the rooftop he'd materialized on, looking for Steve. It had been hours since he'd left and while Loki would never admit it, he'd grown worried when he had not returned.

“STEVE!”

Loki whipped his head in the direction of the scream, the hair on the back of his neck standing on end. He stepped off the edge of the building and disappeared, reappearing on the street where Romanov was firing pointlessly at the creature as it continued its rampage. “Steve! Answer me!” she snapped, not yet seeing Loki. “Clint! What was Cap's last location?”

Romanov spun around, pointing her gun at Loki's head but Loki was faster, grabbing her arm, and spinning, bending her arm until the gun pointed at her neck. She was slippery though, breaking the hold and aiming a kick at Loki's side that he easily blocked. “We got company,” she shouted, even as she tried to swipe Loki's feet from under him.

He grabbed the arrow Barton aimed at his head from the air and wanted to laugh at their attempts, but he only cared about one thing. “Where is Steve?” he demanded of Romanov, grabbing her by the neck and shoving her against the side of a building, her toes barely touching the ground.

“Brother!” Thor roared and Loki shoved Romanov aside just in time to duck Mjolnir. Loki watched as the creature's tail sent Thor flying halfway down the street and rolled his eyes, turning back to Romanov. 

“ _Where_ is Steve?” he asked again, voice deathly quiet.

Romanov shook her head, getting to her feet, guns already in her hands. “In case you missed it, we're kind of busy,” she said tightly. 

Loki growled as Thor came flying towards them again with the creature only steps behind him. He stepped out into the middle of the street and raised his hand. 

“What are you doing?” Romanov snapped, already firing at the creature once more.

“Loki!” Thor shouted, but Loki ignored them both. Mere inches from his out-stretched hand the creature skidded to a stop. He touched its head, and it knelt before him.

“Oh great!” Stark's voice filled the air. “Who invited Reindeer Games?”

The creature huffed a great breath and then it was still, eyes shuttering in a deep sleep. He turned to face his enemies. 

“Is this your doing, brother?” Thor shouted, waving his hammer around and almost hitting Romanov who seemed used to Thor's outbursts and easily ducked.

She seemed the most sensible out of all of them, and Loki took a step closer to her. “Steve,” he repeated. 

She narrowed her eyes for a moment before asking, “Clint?”

“Last I saw him he was half a block from your position.”

Loki spun on his heel and disappeared. 

When he found Steve, he felt his heart stop for a beat, and another before he was on his knees in Steve's blood, gathering him into his arms even as he wrapped his magic around him, tried to stem the bleeding, patch the wound. “You fool,” he muttered, closing his eyes, pushing his magic deeper.

“Steve!” 

Loki heard the clomping of the Avengers running toward them but he paid them no mind. He pulled Steve closer, his hands slick and so red they looked black. 

“What the--”

“What are you doing?”

“Move away from him!”

Loki threw a glare their way, a wall of magic cutting off their attempts to move closer. It would not hold them off long, as Loki could already feel the strain on his magic. He ignored it, forcing even more of his magic into Steve's body until with a hoarse cry Steve jerked in his arms and gasped for breath.

“Loki?” he asked, blinking up at him in confusion. “What happened?”

Loki cupped his face and leaned down, pressing his lips to Steve's. “I'm holding you to your promise,” he murmured.

~*~*~

Loki winked out of existence and the others went running (and flying) toward where Clint last saw Steve. The building was a mess, the window and part of the wall smashed in and inside they saw Loki bent over Steve. There was blood everywhere.

Tony, Bruce and Thor all shouted at once, demanding Loki get away from Steve; Clint and Tasha were silent as they took in their fallen teammate and the god of mischief holding him in his arms.

Loki glared at them and suddenly there was a shimmering in the air and they couldn't go any farther. Tasha reached out and ran her fingers over the wall and it rippled like a wave, blue and green swirls chasing each other along the surface of it.

She tapped her earpiece. “We need a med evac,” she said quietly, her gaze never moving from where Loki was bent over Steve.

“And how are you planning to get Cap to that evac?” Tony asked, gesturing to the wall of magic.

Thor started swinging his hammer but Bruce held up a hand. “Wait,” he muttered, stepping closer. “I think he's trying to help.”

Tony snorted beside him. “Last I checked Rock of Ages was still the enemy.”

“Doesn't look like he's _Cap's_ enemy,” Clint said quietly.

Steve gave a hoarse cry and a gasping breath and they all moved closer. 

“Loki?” Steve rasped and the rest of the team looked at each other in confusion. “What happened?”

Tony's mouth dropped open. “I'm hallucinating,” he muttered. “Jarvis, start scanning for a brain tumor.”

“You don't have a brain tumor,” Bruce snapped, turning to glare at Tony.

“Then how do you explain _that_?” Tony asked, gesturing at Steve and Loki.

“I--”

Tony snapped his fingers and pointed at Bruce. “Nevermind,” he said. “I got it. There's only one answer – Cap's been mind-whammied.” He turned to Clint with a raised brow. “Something you want to tell us, Legolas?”

Clint rolled his eyes. 

“My brother would _never_ ,” Thor started but Tony held up a hand.

“Been there, done that, Point Break – still have the headache.”

Natasha watched as Loki helped Steve to his feet and smirked. It wasn't possible to fake the kind of concern she saw in Loki's eyes when he'd shown up looking for Steve, wasn't possible to fake what she was seeing now; but then, Cap kind of had that effect on people. He managed to see the good in a person, even when everyone else was sure there was none left to be found.

“People change,” she said quietly, glancing at the others, “ _we_ all did.”

The others turned to her with the same incredulous looks on their faces. “No more Disney movies for you,” Tony scoffed.

“We _are_ talking about Loki here,” Bruce added, though there was uncertainty in his tone.

“Uh guys?” Clint's voice broke in. “They're gone.”


	3. Three

Steve clutched at Loki's arm and closed his eyes, fighting the nausea as he suddenly found himself standing in his apartment.

“You need to sit down,” Loki said quietly and Steve felt the god of mischief lead him toward the couch. He cracked an eye open once he was seated and was glad to find the room was no longer spinning. Loki stood above him looking worried, but also pale and Steve reached out a hand and pulled him down to sit beside him.

“You okay?” he murmured, ignoring for the moment that Loki had spirited them away and that the others were probably freaking out. 

Loki snorted. “I am not the one who was near death.”

“You _are_ the one that saved me though,” he answered. He felt the corner of his mouth curl up and couldn't help leaning in, pressing a soft kiss to Loki's lips. “Thank you.”

“You take too many risks,” Loki said in response, frowning at Steve, even as he reached out with his magic to assure himself that the wound was completely healed.

“Kind of comes with the suit,” Steve joked but Loki just scowled at him. He sighed and reached out again, sliding his fingers into Loki's hair and tugging until their foreheads were pressed together. “I can't change who I am,” he said quietly, “and I wouldn't, even if I could. It's my job to protect people.”

“Even at the risk of your own life?” Loki demanded, pulling back. His eyes were wild, even as he held himself perfectly still.

Steve cupped Loki's cheek and smiled a little sadly – he knew Loki would never understand. “Even then,” he answered truthfully.

Loki's jaw clenched and he turned away. Steve let his hand drop to his lap and glanced around his apartment. “The creature?” he asked, trying to change the subject.

“Taken care of,” Loki said with a disdainful sniff.

Steve grinned. “You saved me and the city in the same day,” he teased. “People are going to start talking.”

“As if I care what these _mortals_ think of me,” Loki scoffed.

Steve sighed and pushed to his feet. “I'm going to change,” he said. 

Loki captured his wrist, and stood. “I made you no promises,” he said quietly, seriously.

Steve stared into Loki's green eyes and nodded, gently pulling his wrist from Loki's grip. “I know,” he answered just as seriously. He gave a sad smile and turned for his bedroom. He knew who and what Loki was when this started – didn't mean he couldn't hope that might change, given enough time. Not that he wanted Loki to change exactly, because it was the man Loki was that Steve fell for – it'd just be nice if his lover wasn't technically the enemy. 

Loki was in the kitchen making tea when Steve came out, dressed in sweat pants and a t-shirt. Loki had also changed into something more comfortable. He moved around Steve's kitchen as if it were his own and Steve ducked his head to hide the smile that spread at the thought that Loki looked like he belonged there.

“Got enough for two?” he asked, moving closer. Loki handed over a cup without a word and Steve took it, placing it on the counter before reaching for Loki's to do the same. Loki raised an eyebrow, his mouth curling as he watched Steve.

Moving in closer, Steve pressed Loki against the counter, settling his hands on Loki's hips. “This wasn't exactly how I imagined this weekend going,” he admitted with a grin.

Loki slid his fingers into Steve's hair, tugging gently. He tilted Steve's head back and smirked, leaning in to nip at Steve's bottom lip before capturing his mouth in a deep kiss. “And how did you imagine it?” he murmured, trailing his lips along Steve's jaw, down his neck.

Steve swallowed hard, his fingers tightening on Loki's hips, shifting so their bodies were pressed together in all the right places as his eyes fluttered closed for a moment. It would be so easy to let himself get lost in Loki's touch.

A cough drew their attention and Steve turned to find his team standing in his kitchen with various degrees of disbelief on their faces.

“Hey guys,” Steve said sheepishly, rubbing the back of his neck, feeling his face flush in embarrassment. He glanced at Loki with a mock glare. “Did you see them there?” he muttered. Loki's eyes twinkled with amusement and Steve had his answer. 

“You know,” Tony said, raising an eyebrow, “second time around, gotta admit, it's kind of hot.”

Steve scowled at him and Bruce slapped Tony in the back of the head.

“What?” Tony squawked.

“Are you alright?” Tasha asked, her gaze looking from Steve to Loki and back again. 

Steve nodded, shifting so he was standing in front of Loki, a silent but clear statement. “I'm fine.”

Tony moved closer, his Iron Man suit clunking loudly on Steve's kitchen floor. He leaned in closer, narrowing his eyes. “Ah-ha!” Tony crowed, leaning back to point at Steve. “His eyes are blue! See? I told you. Mind-whammied.”

Steve glared at him, crossing his arms. “My eyes have always been blue, Tony,” he snapped. “And I haven't been _mind-whammied_.”

“That's exactly what you'd say if Rock of Ages was playing around upstairs,” Tony said. He gestured to his own head, wiggling his fingers. Bruce stepped forward and yanked his arm down while Loki snorted behind Steve.

“You should get checked out by a doctor,” Bruce said worriedly.

“I'm fine,” Steve insisted. 

“We just left a pool of your blood on the floor of a destroyed building that says otherwise,” Bruce said dryly. 

Steve winced but shook his head. “Really,” he said, shifting to lift his shirt, exposing his side. “Loki fixed me up.”

Bruce reached out and ran his fingers along Steve's side, a frown on his face, even as he failed to notice the narrow eyed glare Loki was throwing him. “That's amazing,” he muttered.

Steve glanced back at Loki and grinned. Loki took a step closer, placing a possessive hand on Steve's hip and Bruce glanced up, eyes widening for a moment before he stepped back, pulling off his glasses.

“Healing magic,” Loki said tightly. “Which would not have been necessary had you,” here he let his gaze roam over the whole team, “been there to stop it.”

“Hey!” Tony snapped, pointing a finger at Loki. “We were a bit busy trying to save the city, you know. Maybe if _someone_ hadn't brought that...thing here in the first place-”

“It wasn't Loki,” Steve answered, turning his scowl toward Tony.

“Yeah well, when bad shit happens it's usually Reindeer Games behind it,” Tony said, “and you know that as well as I do, Cap; no matter how good the sex is, you can't trust him, he's still the enemy.”

Steve felt Loki stiffen behind him at the same time he himself did, eyes narrowed at Tony. “You might not trust Loki, but I do,” Steve said, voice quiet, hard. He ignored Tony's scowl, letting his gaze drift over the remaining members of his team. “Do you honestly believe that I would put you, or the planet, at risk just for _sex_?” He shook his head. “I thought you knew me better than that.”

“Steve,” Bruce started but Steve held up his hand.

“Loki has been with me all weekend,” he continued. “He didn't do this.”

Tony's jaw twitched as he clenched it. “Well someone did.”

“To be fair,” Tasha said with a shrug, “it's not like Loki is our _only_ enemy, or the only one capable of summoning such a creature here.”

“Are you actually buying into this?” Tony snapped. “Am I the only one that remembers what Loki tried to do a few years ago?”

Clint scowled at him. “We were all there,” he growled.

It took only moments before they were all bickering among themselves and Steve felt his stomach twist unpleasantly. He knew, when they found out, that it wasn't going to be pretty, but he didn't think it would come to this – all of them at each other's throats, looking less like a team with every new word uttered.


	4. Four

He felt a coolness behind him and turned to find Loki had disappeared. Steve couldn't really blame him. If he had magical powers right about then, he was pretty sure he'd have used them too. Before he could do more than pinch the bridge of his nose, he felt a presence behind him once more and turned to find Loki, his lips pressed tightly together.

“Enough!” he snapped, and surprisingly the Avengers listened. They turned to look at him, blinking as if they'd forgotten Loki was even in the kitchen. Loki held up his hand, palm out and waved his other hand over it. Steve wasn't sure exactly what he was looking at but whatever it was, Loki looked both pleased and annoyed by it.

“What is it?” Clint asked suspiciously, and Thor squinted at it as he tilted his head to the side. His eyes widened and then he was grinning that manic grin of his that always made Steve want to take a few steps back.

“Brother!” Thor boomed, clearly pleased. Loki gave him a withering look before tossing whatever was in his hand toward Tony, who fumbled it with a shocked yelp.

“The creature has been returned to its own realm,” Loki announced quietly. “That,” he gestured at the item Tony had dropped on the counter causing everyone else, except Thor, to take five steps back, “will allow you to locate who summoned the creature to Midgard.”

Bruce's eyebrows shot up and he suddenly looked more interested and less afraid as he slipped his glasses on, moving closer. Tony, despite his misgivings about Loki, couldn't stop himself from moving to Bruce's side to inspect the object. “How does it work?” Bruce mumbled, picking it up without waiting for an answer.

Steve turned a grin on the man standing next to him. Loki huffed out an annoyed breath but the look in his eyes when he turned to Steve was anything but. “You didn't have to do that,” Steve murmured, “but thank you.”

The corner of Loki's mouth quirked upward as he slid a hand around Steve's waist, leaning into him, the fingers of his hand sliding underneath the hem of Steve's shirt to splay against his bare skin. He cupped Steve's cheek with his other hand, running his thumb along Steve's bottom lip. “You are welcome,” he answered, voice husky and Steve took a shaky breath as Loki leaned closer, feeling himself leaning closer in kind.

“Whoa! Whoa! Whoa!” Tony's voice came crashing over Steve like a bucket of cold water and he jerked back from Loki, to find his teammates starring at them with varying degrees of embarrassment and or horror. Well, all of them except for Stark of course. “I'm all for a show, Cap, but it's customary to offer dinner first.”

This time it was both Bruce and Tasha that slapped Tony in the back of the head – but by the leer he shot Steve and Loki it wasn't nearly hard enough.

“Alright,” Steve said, firmly, pulling away from Loki and hustling his teammates out of the kitchen and toward the front door. “Crisis averted. Stark, Banner, I'm sure you can figure out how to get that tracker to work on your own, right? Great! Now I'd like to enjoy the rest of my weekend off, without you all in my apartment, if you don't mind,” he said pointedly. 

“Cap, are you sure -” Natasha started, eyebrow raised.

“Nat,” he said quietly, “I'm fine. I promise.”

“Coulson's not going to be happy,” she said.

Steve chuckled. “So I'll sign a couple hundred more of those Captain America trading cards he seems to keep finding.”

She smirked at him, before reaching out and squeezing his arm. “Just be careful.”

~*~*~

Steve pressed his forehead to the closed door for a moment and took a deep breath, feeling Loki's arms slide around him. Steve leaned back into the embrace, his eyes closed, Loki's lips pressing feather light along his neck, his fingers dipping beneath the waistband of Steve's jeans.

“Come back to bed,” he whispered against Steve's skin, making him shiver.

Steve let Loki pull him back toward the bedroom, let Loki carefully strip him out of each piece of his clothing with a reverence that left Steve breathless and aching, before he removed his own clothes with a wave of his hand. Loki stretched Steve out on the bed on his side, plastering himself along Steve's back, his hand molded to the spot where Steve's side had been sliced open by the alien creature just that afternoon. He covered Loki's hand with his own, turning to look at him over his shoulder. 

“I'm fine,” he whispered. “You saved me.”

Loki's fingers twitched against his skin. “I was very nearly too late,” he rasped, sliding his hand lower, over Steve's chest, to cover his heart. Steve entwined his fingers with Loki's before lifting their joined hands to his mouth and placed a kiss in the center of Loki's palm. 

He still wasn't sure exactly what this was between them, wasn't sure he'd ever be able to define it, but as Loki took a shuddering breath behind him, pressed closer, held on just a little tighter than normal, he thought maybe that was okay too. He shifted in the bed until he was on his back, until he could settle Loki in a long familiar position, smiling up at him as he slid his fingers into Loki's hair to draw him down into a slow, deep kiss.

Their bodies moved with practised ease, finding just the right spots that drove each other closer to the edge until soon Steve was panting against Loki's neck, mumbling his name, desperate for release. 

“Don't do that again,” Loki hissed, his voice a little frantic as he clutched at Steve, nails digging in just enough to sting. “Promise me.”

Steve's brain took a few seconds to catch up, his legs tightening around Loki's hips as he tried to make him thrust faster. Then he stilled, staring into Loki's pleading eyes, before cupping the side of his cheek, running a thumb along his bottom lip. He swallowed past the lump in his throat at the look in his lover's eyes and pulled him into a gentle kiss before whispering against Loki's mouth, “I can't promise that.” The shattered look behind Loki's eyes before he threw up his usual mask of indifference broke Steve's heart. Before Loki could pull away Steve used the fingers in his hair, the legs around his hips to pull him closer. “No more than you could promise to stop being who you are,” he murmured.

“I could,” Loki muttered stubbornly, and Steve pressed a smile into his hair, because he knew it wasn't true.

“I wouldn't ask you to,” he whispered, trailing his hands down Loki's back, letting his nails scratch lightly against Loki's skin, feeling him shiver above him before Loki began to move again, slowly, carefully, like he was afraid he was going to break Steve.

It didn't take long for Steve to find his release, shuddering beneath Loki's body, tightening around him, pulling him closer, gasping out his name against the curve of Loki's neck, feeling the pleasant buzz of it making his limbs feel heavy as he pressed a kiss to Loki's shoulder, before trailing his hands down Loki's arms twining their fingers together.

Loki pinned their joined hands above Steve's head, starring down at him, eyes nearly black, pale skin flushed. “Ask me,” he rasped.

Steve didn't pretend not to know what he was talking about. “Loki,” he began, but Loki shook his head.

_”Ask me.”_

Licking his lips, Steve squeezed Loki's fingers, his heart thudding wildly in his chest. “Stay,” he whispered. “With me. You could join-” Steve didn't get any farther as Loki surged forward, kissing him with near bruising force, his hips snapping forward so suddenly that the gasp Steve let out immediately turned into a moan of pleasure. Loki pressed their hands into the bed, clutching Steve's tightly, as Steve's legs once again wrapped around Loki's waist, encouraged him to go faster, deeper, hitting the right spot again and again until Steve found himself shaking once again in pleasure, his dry release edging Loki over his own cresting surge of climax until he was no longer able to hold himself up, curling into the curve of Steve's embrace.

Steve let his hands glide over Loki's skin, petting his breathing back to something a little more calm, Loki humming a little drowsily against Steve's neck, until they both hissed as his now softening cock slipped from Steve's body. He thought about getting up, getting a wet cloth to clean them both up, but before he could, Loki waved his hand and Steve glanced down to see there was no longer any need. He turned an affectionate grin toward him, placing a soft kiss against Loki's temple. “Handy,” he murmured, amused.

Loki waved his hand again and the blankets on Steve's bed floated up and over them, settling around them like Loki's magic was tucking them in and Steve bit his lip at the wave of affection, maybe even love, that filled him for the man draped over him. He wasn't sure what that had been before, if Loki had meant it, if he wanted to talk about it or pretend it hadn't happened. Steve found himself idly scratching Loki's scalp, the way Loki enjoyed but never asked him to do; he never asked Steve for much in the way of non-sexual intimate gestures, but Steve had noticed all the same that this was something that Loki enjoyed.

“You are thinking far too loudly,” Loki muttered against Steve's neck, “it is most annoying.”

Steve chuckled, pausing in his attentions, only for Loki to give a displeased noise, that had him continue the idle scratching, as he stared at the ceiling. The idea of Loki staying, maybe even joining the team, kept going through his mind like it was on repeat.

Loki huffed in irritation, the arm he had thrown over Steve's chest tightening for a moment before he shifted to prop himself up on his elbow, glaring down at him. “What?” Loki growled.

Steve almost said 'nothing', almost brushed it aside and pulled Loki back against him until he fell asleep, but what he said instead was, “I meant it, you know?” Loki frowned at him. “You could stay.”

Loki rolled his eyes and Steve's stomach dropped. “We already settled that, did we not?” he sniffed. He threw his leg over Steve's and curled into his side. 

Steve automatically wrapped his arms around Loki, even as he stared at the top of Loki's head in confusion. Had they settled it? Was Steve just so caught up in...well, that he forgot?

“Just so you know though, this doesn't mean I will stop making Stark's, or Thor's lives miserable,” Loki mumbled, and Steve felt himself freeze. “It's a perfectly reasonable trade off,” he argued, his voice slurred as if almost asleep and Steve felt a grin spreading as he tightened his arms around Loki.

“Perfectly reasonable,” he agreed softly, feeling Loki relax against him fully. Steve pressed a kiss to Loki's temple and closed his eyes, letting sleep take him.


End file.
